When venture capitalist Charles Morgan quit as chairman of a West Australian government-backed advisory body charged with identifying opportunities in the technological and scientific fields, questions were raised over whether the mineral-rich state really wanted to shed its dig-it-up, ship-it-out tag.

The frustrated chairman stepped down in early 2011, only four months into his three-year term.

John Poynton, a prominent local deal-maker and fellow board member at the Technology and Industry Advisory Council (TIAC), waited a week to see what the Liberal government would do.

“I thought I’d wait and see what the minister’s reaction was, and there was no reaction," Poynton says. “So I resigned.

“All I got was a one-line letter signed by the minister thanking me for my contribution. I’d been there a couple of months."

In a state primarily known for its iron ore and natural gas reserves, there is an expectation that it will one day mature into an innovation hub, leveraging off its prowess in the resources and agricultural sectors.

Where else in the world is better placed to be involved in driverless car technology, for example, than a state already equipped with driverless trains on its mining projects?

Yet despite some progress, the TIAC example shows that WA is a long way from turning that dream into a reality.

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Both side of politics have promised that, if elected this weekend, this will change.

Launching the official Liberal campaign last month, Premier
Colin Barnett
promised to take direct responsibility for the science portfolio if re-elected.

The Liberal science policy says WA has a once-in-a-generation chance to broaden its economy and secure a long-term future for the state.

“The determining factor that will enable WA to achieve this future economic success is the development of a science culture," the policy says.

The Liberal science policy package is full of big numbers: $438 million for a new museum, $15 million for child-focused science education centre Scitech to relocate to a new, bigger building, and an additional $30 million for medical research.

But critics view the Liberal policy with some scepticism, given the government’s chequered history on science.

Just weeks before the Premier placed science at the heart of his second-term agenda, the government attracted criticism for scrapping research programs at the Perth Observatory.

The move left the observatory as little more than a school-tour destination to save the cost-cutting government $300,000 a year.

Papers tabled in Parliament last year showed that state government spending on science was expected to fall dramatically in the next few years, from $31.6 million in 2012-13 to $11.6 million in 2015-16.

WA Labor leader
Mark McGowan
has also pledged to take WA into a more science-driven future, but his decision to scrap the new museum and put the money towards public transport raises questions about Labor’s commitment to the issue.

Its policy tends to focus on the small end, including $100 million in upgrading science capacity at public high schools and creating science hubs where student teachers can observe and learn from leading professionals.

Mark Barnaba, chairman of Macquarie Group’s WA arm, says transforming WA into a more sophisticated economy is no easy feat. “My view is that there are three groups that have to work together – government, business and think tanks," he says.

“They are complex issues. They take some element of vision. They need to engender confidence to attract investment. They need to do it over a long period of time."

But first things first.

Barnaba says WA needs to squeeze the most out of the current boom. “We have a pipeline of projects that most countries, let alone states, would be envious of," he says.

“We have to run hard to squeeze the most out of the current situation the state is in."

This includes managing cost inflation and engaging in micro-economic reforms so that the mineral-rich state remains a competitive place to do business.

Yet as WA’s iron ore and gas projects continue to develop, there remains a question over whether it will be in a financial position to take science and technology seriously.

Billions of dollars of new transport infrastructure election pledges, from both sides of politics, will nudge the state’s triple-A credit rating towards a downgrade.

Concerned by expenditure growth outpacing revenue growth, rating agencies have placed WA on “watch", which indicates its rating is under threat.

Analysis shows that key ratios used to determine whether a state is spending too much, such as net debt to revenue, are hitting levels not seen since the mid-1990s.

Any shock to the state’s mineral royalty revenues by a falling iron ore price would probably be enough to usher in a period of government austerity. The financial predicament has been blamed on the expanding infrastructure needs and costs of a rapidly developing state.

Both sides of politics entered the 2013 election campaign with big-ticket, expensive promises, and have all but ignored rating agency advice to provide a “cushion" to compensate for the state’s notoriously volatile revenue streams.

There is a silver lining.

Part of the multibillion-dollar Square Kilometre Array telescope project, a global project to develop the world’s largest and most sensitive radio telescope, is to be built in the state.

Also, a new tertiary hospital, named after renowned epidemiologist Fiona Stanley, is about to open in Perth.

The medical, science and technology community in WA should receive a boost no matter which party wins this weekend’s election.

In a recent speech, Clough CEO Kevin Gallagher called for incentives for global companies that form long-term partnerships with local businesses, as well as greater and more proactive investment from governments in science.

WA-established firm Clough contracts its engineering services to some of the world’s largest mining and oil companies, including Chevron and Santos.

Gallagher says cities like Aberdeen in Scotland have been able to flourish long after their peak oil-producing days ended because of a concerted effort by the government to encourage science and innovation.

“This has created another mini-boom for the services sector. Without a drive towards developing this kind of specialist expertise, we are going to miss out on the longer-term benefits of our boom," Gallagher says.